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2011 Means Growth for Small Businesses in Online Marketing

When it comes to low-cost marketing methods, utilizing the web is the most effective way small businesses can market their products and services. In a report by Zoomerang, small businesses (companies with fewer than 1,000 employees) are predicted to maintain steady marketing budgets in 2011, including spending on websites, email marketing, social media marketing, direct mail and print advertising.

Websites are the number one item spent in marketing, with 39 percent of small businesses spending more than 20 percent of their marketing budget on website design. Next year, 17 percent of small businesses report they are planning to increase spending on websites – that’s the highest percentage of any other marketing strategy. 15 percent of respondents say they plan to increase spending on email marketing next year, and 13 percent plan to increase spending on social media.

Surprisingly, only 54 percent of small businesses reported that they currently have a website. And of businesses that have websites, only 13 percent of them have a blog. This indicates a huge growth opportunity for the other half of small businesses to develop websites and for current websites to expand functions to include blogs, lead generation or e-commerce features. There’s a lot of room for growth in 2011 for website design for small businesses.

Social media is another area for growth, as 34 percent of small businesses have a social media marketing program and 13 percent report they plan on increasing their social media budgets next year.

Businesses with modest marketing budgets still have many opportunities. Is your business benefiting from the many interactive marketing options now available online?